Process for the combined production of nitrogen and oxygen with adjustable flows

ABSTRACT

A flow of air which has been compressed cooled dried is treated in a unit for separation by cryogenic distillation to give a flow of nitrogen; the oxygen enriched residual gases are, in part, sent at the inlet of a unit for separation by adsorption in which the outlet substantially produces oxygen. If the flow of oxygen is insufficient, additional air is injected. If the flow of oxygen is too important, an excess flow of residual gases is withdrawn. This apparatus enables to provide, at a lesser cost, independent flows of nitrogen and oxygen which are adjustable at will.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

(a) Field of the Invention

The present invention concerns the combined production of nitrogen andoxygen with adjustable flows, of the type utilizing an initialseparation of air to produce a substantially pure flow of nitrogen and aflow of oxygen enriched residual gases, with subsequent purificationtreatment.

(b) Description of Prior Art

This production which is generally carried out by cryogenic distillationnecessarily leads to the production of nitrogen and oxygen flows whichare within well determined relative proportions, the flow of nitrogenbeing of the order of 2, 5 times the flow of oxygen except, of course,that two separation units which are independent from one another must beprovided, which is very costly.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The aim of the present invention is to ensure the combined production ofnitrogen and oxygen with adjustable flows starting from an initialseparation of air, with addition of supplementary separation meansrepresenting moderate investment and maintenance costs, and this objectof the invention is achieved by treating said residual gases, to which acomplementary flow of air is possibly added, by adsorption to give anadjustable flow of substantially pure oxygen. It will be understood thatthis arrangement, which treats residual gases that have already beenenriched in oxygen is less costly than a supplementary treatment ofatmospheric air, while presenting an important flexibility of control ofthe respective flows of nitrogen and oxygen.

According to an embodiment, the treatment by adsorption is carried outat the pressure of the residual gases which are derived from the initialseparation of air, while the regeneration of the adsorber is carried outat a truly inferior pressure, possibly under vacuum if the pressure ofthe residual gases from the initial separation is not much higher thanatmospheric pressure. According to a variant, the residual gases fromthe initial separation of air are compressed again before treating themby adsorption.

Generally, the initial separation of air is a cryogenic distillationwhich is preceded by a drying-decarbonizing step, and in such a case:

either a portion only of the residual gases is treated by adsorption,the remainder being used as regeneration gas carrier in thedrying-decarbonizing of the air to be treated by cryogenic distillation;

or at least a portion of the residual gases which are derived from thecryogenic distillation is used to regenerate the drying-decarbonizingbefore being treated by adsorption and, advantageously bydrying-decarbonizing;

or at least a portion of the residual gases which are derived from thecryogenic distillation is directly treated by adsorption, the oxygenproduced by adsorption being used as regeneration gas carrier fordrying-decarbonizing the air intended to be treated by cryogenicdistillation.

The invention also concerns an apparatus for carrying out the aboveprocess.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention will now be illustrated with reference to the annexeddrawings in which:

FIGS. 1 to 3 are three variant embodiments of a production apparatusaccording to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIG. 1, an apparatus comprises a unit for productionby cryogenic distillation 1 including an inlet for air to be separated 2which is connected via a double dryer-decarbonizer, 3, 4 to a cooler 5downstream of an atmospheric air compressor 6. In usual manner, when adryer-decarbonizer 3, (4) is in operation, the other 4, (3) is beingregenerated by means of a hot carrier gas.

The distillation unit 1 includes an outlet for pure nitrogen produced 7and an outlet for residual gases 8, having an oxygen content, between 30and 60%, for example of the order of 42%. The outlet for residual gases8 is connected on the one hand via a heater 9 to an "outlet" 10 of adryer-decarbonizer 3 or 4 in the process of being regenerated, in whichan "inlet" 11 constitutes the outlet of the regeneration gas carrierloaded with water and carbon dioxide, on the other hand via a duct 12including possibly a compressor 13 to either inlet 14, 15 of a unit forseparation by adsorption 16 including two adsorpers 17, 18 withmolecular sieves which preferably adsorb nitrogen, of which eitheroutlet 19, 20 opens in a buffer-container 21, on which is connected aduct for the production of oxygen 22. Usually, one of the adsorbers 17,(18) is in operation, while the other 18, (17) is being regenerated bydepressurization, possibly, by means of a vacuum pump 23 alternativelyconnected on either of the "inlet" 14, 15. Of course, this adsorptionunit is schematically illustrated with two adsorbers only and withoutthe set of change over cycle valves, and it should be understood that,generally, a larger number of adsorbers are used, in which one or morethan one are either in production, or being depressurized, or beingrepressurized.

Additional air may be added to the adsorption unit either at 24 upstreamof the compressor 13, if any, or at 24' downstream of the samecompressor 13. On the other hand, an excess of residual gases may bewithdrawn at 25.

The apparatus operates in the following manner:

A flow of air (240 Nm³) is first compressed (6-7 bars) at 6, then cooledat 5, dried-decarbonized at 3 or 4 before being introduced at 2 5 in thedistillation unit 1. A flow (100 Nm³) of substantially pure nitrogenexits at 7, and a flow of residual gases exits at 8, of which the oxygenmolar content is of the order of 40 to 60%, which is divided into a flow(140 Nm³) of regeneration carrier gas for the dryer-decarbonized 3, (4)which is first directed towards the heater 9, and a flow of residualgases to be treated (100 Nm³) which is transferred via duct 12, andcompressor 13, if any, to an inlet 14, 15 of the unit for treatment foradsorption 16, producing a flow of substantially pure oxygen (22 Nm³) at22 and a flow of residual gases (78 Nm³) which is rejected to theatmosphere, possibly via vacuum pump 23.

Assuming that the flow of nitrogen (100 Nm³) which exits at 7 is thedesired flow, it is possible that the flow of oxygen which exits at 22(22 Nm³) is also sufficient. In this case, no additional flow of air isinjected at 24, 24'.

On the contrary, if the flow of oxygen at 22 is insufficient or is tooimportant, a supplementary flow of air is injected at 24, 24', or anexcess flow of residual gases is respectively withdrawn at 25, such thatthe flow of oxygen which exits at 22 is the one desired, which modifiesin no way the operation of the unit for separation by distillation 1.

With reference to FIG. 2, the latter shows the same means generallydesignated by the same reference numbers, except that the totality or asubstantial portion of the residual gases which exit at 8 (140 Nm³) fromthe distillation apparatus is sent via the heater 9 to exit 10 of thedryer-decarbonizer being regenerated 3, (4) of which the inlet 11delivers this total flow via duct 12 to the adsorption unit consistinghere of three adsorbers 27, 28, 29 incorporating a molecular sieve (27a,28a, 29a) associated, upstream, with a bed of alumina (27b, 28b, 29b) tostop water and carbon dioxide which is present in the dryer-decarbonizer3, 4.

With reference to FIG. 3, where the same elements are designated by thesame reference numbers as on FIG. 1, the regeneration of thedryer-decarbonizer 3, 4 is here ensured by at least a portion of theflow of oxygen produced at 22, which is possibly recompressed at 31 andheated at 9, and is sent to an outlet 10 of the dryer-decarbonizer beingregenerated 3, (4), whose inlet is then connected to a duct for theproduction of slightly humidified oxygen 32. It will be noted that thenumbers in brackets represent the flows treated from a flow of 240 Nm³air. As previously, if the flow of oxygen at 32 (31 Nm³) appears to beinsufficient, a flow of additional air is injected at 24 or 24', to betreated by the unit for separation by adsorption. If one of the residualgases is too important, it is withdrawn at 25.

We claim:
 1. A process for the production of nitrogen and oxygen in adjustable quantities from an input flow of air, comprising the steps of:separating the air by cryogenic distillation to provide a flow of substantially pure nitrogen and a residual gas flow of oxygen enriched residual gases; modifying said residual gas flow by selectively adding an additional amount of air to the flow of oxygen enriched residual gases or withdrawing an excess amount of said oxygen enriched residual gases, and treating the modified residual gas flow by adsorption to provide a flow of substantially pure oxygen.
 2. The process of claim 1 wherein adsorption of the modified residual gas flow is carried out by an adsorber operative at a pressure substantially equal to the pressure of the separated residual gas flow; and further comprising the step of regenerating said adsorber at a substantially lower pressure.
 3. The process of claim 2 wherein the regeneration pressure is approximately a vacuum pressure when the pressure of the separated residual gas flow is slightly higher than atmospheric pressure.
 4. The process of claim 1 further comprising the step of compressing said residual gas flow prior to said treatment by adsorption.
 5. The process of claim 1 further comprising the step of drying-decarbonizing said input flow of air in a dryer-decarbonizer prior to separation by cryogenic distillation.
 6. The process of claim 5 further comprising the step of supplying a portion of said residual gas flow to said dryer-decarbonizer as a regeneration carrier gas; and modifying the remainder of said residual gas flow.
 7. The process of claim 5 further comprising the step of supplying said residual gas flow to said dryer-decarbonizer as a regeneration carrier gas prior to modification.
 8. The process of claim 5 further comprising the step of supplying said flow of substantially pure oxygen to said dryer-decarbonizer as a regeneration carrier gas.
 9. Apparatus for the production of nitrogen and oxygen in adjustable quantities from an input flow of air, comprising:a cryogenic distillation unit for separating the air to provide a flow of substantially pure nitrogen and a residual gas flow of oxygen enriched residual gases; means for modifying said residual gas flow by selectively adding an additional amount of air to the flow of oxygen enriched residual gases or withdrawing an excess amount of said oxygen enriched residual gases, and an adsorber for treating the modified residual gas flow by adsorption to provide a flow of substantially pure oxygen.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said adsorber is operative at a pressure substantially equal to the pressure of the separated residual gas flow, and said adsorber is regenerated at a substantially lower pressure.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the adsorber is regenerated at approximately a vacuum pressure when the pressure of the separated residual gas flow is slightly higher than atmospheric pressure.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising a compressor for compressing said residual gas flow prior to said treatment by said adsorber.
 13. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising a dryer-decarbonizer for drying-decarbonizing said input flow of air prior to separation by said cryogenic distillation unit.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the cryogenic distillation unit has an output coupled to said dryer-decarbonizer for supplying a portion of said residual gas flow as a regeneration carrier gas, said output being additionally coupled to said adsorber via said means for modifying.
 15. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the cryogenic distillation unit has an output coupled to said dryer-decarbonizer for supplying said residual gas flow as a regeneration carrier gas and thence to said adsorber via said means for modifying.
 16. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the adsorber has an output coupled to said dryer-decarbonizer for supplying said flow of substantially pure oxygen as a regeneration carrier gas.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16 further comprising a compressor and a heater for coupling the output of said adsorber to said dryer-decarbonizer. 